PERM: THE HISTORIOGRAPHY WITH THE ETYMOLOGY

Abstract

The article is a historiographical overview of the ongoing for more than two and half century discussion about the location of Biarmia/Perm and especially the etymology of this toponym. When interpreting the name Perm, almost all researchers improperly expanded its meaning by leaving the exact translation of it (“back land”) without attention. They replaced the subject of research when used not synonymous adjectives (“far”, “extreme”) for etymologizing. Since it was not possible to find a solution to the problem using the methods of linguistic and historical toponymy, it is necessary to use the methods of historical geography.